Team USA, with new players, focused on itself for rematch vs France for FIBA World Cup gold
· Yahoo Sports
BERLIN — Defending the crown can be harder than winning it. The United States earned that challenge after advancing to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup final with a 76-66 semifinal victory over Spain on Saturday night. For just the second time in tournament history, there will be a rematch of the previous Olympic final, more than two years after a narrow U.S. victory over France.
The previous rematch was a 1990 World Cup final victory over Yugoslavia after the U.S. had defeated the same team in the 1988 Olympics. The Americans extended their World Cup winning streak to 35 games since a 2006 semifinal loss to Russia, the only loss in senior international competition since the 1992 Olympics.
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The U.S. will tip-off the gold medal game against France at 2 p.m. Sunday with the opportunity to win a record tying fifth-consecutive World Cup championship and 12th overall.
Knowing that France is the next, and last, opponent on the schedule, the memories of the 67-66 U.S. Olympic victory and the sense of anticipation in the sellout crowd of 12,650 at Uber Arena could be captured in one word: rematch.
Breanna Stewart, who led the U.S. with 16 points, had an emphatic answer for that.
“That's over,” Stewart said. “You know what I mean? We won that game. That game is over. This is a completely new game tomorrow, and everybody has their own things that continue to motivate them.”
Before the start of the World Cup tournament, the FIBA rankings placed the U.S. first and France second. After the group phase, which included the U.S. escape against Italy, France was ranked first.
“If I'm honest, we have nothing to lose,” France guard Marine Johannes said after her team’s 86-64 victory over Germany. “We actually know they’re a great team. [They] won every World Cup from years and years. They are very talented. We all know that. We all [have] been playing with these kinds of players, actually, all season. We know how good they are, but again, it’s one game, nothing to lose.”
Another U.S. victory would give Stewart a fourth World Cup gold medal, which would tie the record set by former teammate Sue Bird. Stewart was part of a 25th consecutive U.S. victory without a defeat, second to the total of 29 won by Uljana Semjonova of the Soviet Union.
“This is our standard here with Team USA,” Stewart said. “And it's about us. It's literally about us. Everything that we do is going to dictate what happens in tomorrow's game. And making sure that that's the main focus as we continue to look inward. Whether that's lifting a teammate up or high-fiving them or telling them to shoot the next shot. There's going to be a ton of emotions in this game, and it's going to be the team that really kind of regulates that and handles that best that will have the advantage.”
Stewart went on to note that there are seven players on this year’s World Cup team who did not participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, while France’s roster is comprised of a majority of the same players from two years ago.
“They dreamed of these moments, you know,” Stewart said of her younger teammates. “When you play on the junior national team, you dream of these moments. And now they're finally here, and you have people [with them] that have done it multiple times. It's a joy to see, because every everyone's first time is special, and we want to make sure that this is special for them.”
Stewart’s veteran presence helped her team navigate through an evening in which the Americans made just 39.7% of their shots. Caitlin Clark was held to one point and one assist, for a tournament total of 29, an average of 5.8 points, which is the U.S. record average set by Dawn Staley in 1998.
Early in the fourth quarter, the score was tied 58-58 and the Spain fans in the sellout crowd were sensing an upset.
“They try to muck up the game,” Aliyah Boston, who contributed six points with seven rebounds, said. “I feel like that's what teams are going to try and do against us. They went zone on some makes. So, for us, just knowing that, listen, that was an ugly first 20 [minutes], and we knew that we had a better second half to play.”
The first half saw the U.S. shoot 27 free throws, making 19, which totaled nearly half of their points. Spain never allowed the U.S. to find an offensive rhythm, seemingly fouling or forcing a turnover the next possession after every U.S. field goal.
Kahleah Copper, who scored 13 points, broke the 58-58 tie with a jumper from the left baseline with 9:22 left to play, starting what would turn into an 18-8 U.S. run. Jackie Young played an essential role in the decisive stretch, scoring six of her 12 points in a span of 7:24 the fourth quarter, with two key assists that helped the U.S. build a double-digit lead for the first time. Young’s steal with 1:42 left to play closed the door on what was a stressful, yet rewarding, night for the Americans.
“When you're in a tournament like this, it doesn't always have to be pretty,” Boston said. “You just have to come out with the win. So, for us, it’s about not hanging our heads. I think we did a great job with our rotations. Everyone came in, gave energy, gave great minutes, scored the ball, and so for us, once again, make sure that when your name is called, you're ready to go.”
Carter Jones is a graduate student at IU Indianapolis, part of the Sports Capital Journalism Program. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Team USA, with new players, focused on itself for rematch vs France for FIBA World Cup gold
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